School of Medicine - LSU Health New Orleans



In an attempt to aid and inform applicants and potential applicants to our medical school during these uncertain times, LSU-New Orleans School of Medicine is providing a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the application process. Remember, this list pertains ONLY to LSU-New Orleans School of Medicine. We encourage you to contact other medical schools directly with questions specific to them. Also, AAMC, AMCAS, and MCAT all have websites with useful, updated information for applicants in general, and we encourage you to refer to these sites for additional information. LSU-New Orleans is basically following these organizations’ recommendations and guidelines. Should you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us in Admissions at MS-Admissions@lsuhsc.edu, and we will be happy to answer your questions.My school is offering pass/fail (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) options for course work due to the COVID-19 crisis. Does/Will LSU-New Orleans accept P/F grades instead of letter grades for courses? We will accept P/F grades instead of letter grades (even for prerequisites) because of unusual circumstances caused by COVID-19. However, applicants should keep several things in mind. -P/F grades are NOT included in calculations for Math/Science or Overall grade point average (GPA). Therefore, any improvement in grade performance will not be reflected with P/F grades. Obviously, if this is the only available option, we will accept it (especially for the Spring ’20 and Summer ’20 semesters). Once valid letter grade options become available, we recommend choosing the letter grade option. - P/F grades WILL NOT be helpful for those pursuing the 32-hour policy.My school offers online courses. Does/Will LSU-New Orleans accept credit from online courses? If your school accepts an online course AS CREDIT TOWARD A DEGREE, then we will accept that course also. This applies ONLY to lecture-based courses. Obviously, any lab work should be done in person. This applies to both prerequisite and upper level science courses. The school which offers the online course must be an ACCREDITED American or Canadian university, college, or community college. (In general, only prerequisite courses should/can be taken at a community college. Upper level science courses should be taken at 4-year colleges or universities).My original Spring MCAT testing date was cancelled due to Covid-19. What is your current MCAT policy? Is it possible to have my MCAT testing waived? Every applicant applying to LSU-New Orleans School of Medicine MUST have a current MCAT score. Due to Covid-19, MCAT has added additional test dates and times for the 2020 cycle. You can go to the MCAT website to find the exact times and dates. - Our MCAT policy at LSU-New Orleans remains essentially the same. An applicant may take the MCAT as many times as they wish, we will look at your LATEST score. The latest score that we will accept for a given application cycle is the last test date of that cycle. (For this current cycle, the last date in the Covid-19 adjusted cycle). Your latest MCAT score is valid for 3 years. - We have no “cut-off” or “floor” score. The average cumulative score for applicants matriculating to our school is 508-509. - As always, we recommend that you get your application (AMCAS, Letters of Recommendation, Stage 2, etc.) in EARLY. DO NOT WAIT ON YOUR NEW MCAT SCORE IN ORDER TO SEND IN YOUR APPLICATION. MCAT will promptly send your new scores directly to the medical schools you have indicated on your registration. - THE SHORTENED MCAT WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR APPLICATION IN ANY WAY. The adjusted MCAT still has the same format with four sections and a cumulative score. It is scored the same way. It will be evaluated in an identical way to the longer, standard MCAT. Are your application dates and deadlines changing? NO. Currently, all of our application dates and deadlines remain the same.-The deadline for having a complete application in to our office for Early Decision (EDP) remains September 1.- All of our policies regarding Early Decision (EDP) remain the same.- OBVIOUSLY, THIS IS A CONTINUALLY EVOLVING SITUATION. WE WILL CONTINUE TO ABIDE BY AMCAS AND AAMC GUIDELINES. SHOULD ANY CHANGES OCCUR, OUR ADMISSIONS OFFICE WILL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND MAKE APPROPRIATE ACCOMODATIONS. Are you still recommending using a school’s Pre-Med Advisory Committee if available? Have there been any changes to your policies regarding Letters of Recommendation? -YES. We still recommend that applicants use their schools pre-med advisory committee, if that option is available. You are responsible for meeting and following your school committee’s deadlines, rules, etc. Obviously, we will accept any changes to your school committee’s policy/procedure due to current circumstances. - All other policies regarding letters of recommendation remain the same. How will Covid-19 changes affect your overall evaluation of community service, clinical/patient experience, extracurriculars, etc?We understand that all such activities, including those involving patient and clinical contact, have been significantly impacted by Covid-19. We will certainly take all of that into consideration. Applicants should continue to pursue such activities when they become reasonably available. As always, keep your application updated with any changes. Will interviews be impacted next year due to Covid-19? YES. This application cycle (2020-2021) we will be doing virtual interviews and orientation. We will also provide a virtual tour during your interview day. We plan/hope to have a Second Visit opportunity for in-person visits to our campus in the middle of Spring 2021. Details to all of this are currently being worked out. We will inform you and update you on exact details as they become available. ................
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